The Bangor Daily News is looking for a leader to reinvent how it covers sports in Maine.

This is a rare chance to shape what sports coverage looks like at a thriving local news organization. You'd oversee a team, manage the beat, and own the growth of our sports audience, which is already some of the most engaged in the newsroom.

Just as important, you'd be expected to build — to launch new products, test new formats and figure out what Maine sports journalism should look like in the years ahead. The right person will be as excited about prototyping a video series, newsletter or data tool as they are about editing a great feature.

If you're the right person for this challenge, this is how we'd describe you: You love sports and believe the best stories are about people. You're endlessly curious about new tools — AI, video, audio, interactives — and eager to put them to work. You're comfortable breaking from the way things have always been done. You understand audience analytics and use them to make smart calls about where to invest your team's time. You can write a killer web headline, omit needless words and treat colleagues with respect and maturity.

Experience as an editor is not required. If you're a reporter, producer, creator or coach with strong connections in the Maine sports community, we want to hear from you.

You'd be joining a large, and growing, statewide news organization in its fourth generation of local ownership. We believe there's a bright future for local newsrooms that invest in good journalism, experiment relentlessly and put their audiences first. This role is central to that plan.

The position is based in Bangor, Maine.

I. Job Responsibilities

• Lead sports coverage that grows and serves the BDN's audience, with a focus on people-first storytelling.
• Experiment with and build new formats, products and technologies — including AI, video and interactive data — to reach Maine sports fans in new ways.
• Manage and coach a reporter and freelancers.
• Devise and execute coverage plans for sports seasons, major events and emerging storylines across high school, college and national sports.
• Curate sports content efficiently by working with contributors, coaches, schools and organizations to cover local scores, game reports and community sports.
• Use audience analytics to understand what's working, identify gaps and make smart decisions about where to invest effort.
• Identify efficiency opportunities and improvements in how we produce sports journalism.
• Report and write stories as needed, with photos and multimedia.
• Stay current on the news industry and on how other sports publishers are innovating.

II. Job specifications

• Deep knowledge of and passion for high school, college and national sports
• Experience in journalism, media or a related creative field is great; formal editing experience is a plus but not required
• Curiosity about and willingness to experiment with AI, multimedia and new story forms
• Strong leadership, coaching and communication skills
• Ability to juggle multiple projects with different focuses in quick succession
• Attention to detail and willingness to learn

If you think you might be our next great hire, please submit your resume and cover letter.

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Employee discount
• Flexible spending account
• Health insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid parental leave
• Paid time off
• Parental leave
• Professional development assistance
• Tuition reimbursement
• Vision insurance

Work Location: In person